SOA DEVELOPMENT TOOLSVehicles for applications to become part of the SOA ecosystem. These tools help define WSDL, the lingua franca for describing interfaces in SOA communication. SOA tools include Sun's Java Studio Creator and BEA WebLogic Workshop.

SERVICE REQUESTORElements that request services. These can be custom applications, desktop applications, Macromedia Flash, or portals. They run on platforms such as IBM's WebSphere on Linux, or Microsoft Windows.

SERVICE PROVIDERExposes business functionality as a service. Providers can be an ERP system like SAP, an HR system like PeopleSoft, or a .NET or J2EE application.

TRANSPORT MECHANISMEnables transfer of Web services. SOAP over HTTP is the most common way to transport Web services. SOA also supports other transports such as IBM's WebSphere MQ family and JMS. In a typical SOA model, communication is asynchronous, so one system can send a message to another and not have to wait for a response.

SOA INFRASTRUCTUREThe runtime environment for invoking Web services. It controls and negotiates the connnection and operation between requestor and provider.

The enterprise service bus (ESB) is an approach to standards-based messaging middleware. An SOA broker handles the routing and orchestration of services. UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration)is a registry and discovery utility for SOA services.

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About the Author

Rob Lipschutz is PC Magazine's Lead Analyst for Business and Networking. He is responsible for our coverage of networking, and of services and software targeted at the unique needs of smaller businesses. As former Technical Director, Networking for PC Magazine, he just can't get these products out of his blood. Rob has written three books and num... See Full Bio

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